SnoReptilePlenty Memorable, crazy movie

Acensbart Excellent but underrated film

Sexyloutak Absolutely the worst movie.

Borserie it is finally so absorbing because it plays like a lyrical road odyssey that’s also a detective story.

DeuceWild_77 Often reminded as Argento's weakest entry on his 'animal trilogy' and the giallo sub-genre itself, it's in fact one of his best directed films and a lost pearl that deserved to be ranked higher than "Four Flies on Grey Velvet" ('71) and the extremely overrated, "Deep Red" ('75).First of all, and even if Argento himself collaborated in the story, it got re-writes from the legendary Bryan Edgar Wallace, maybe on the film's structure and the final product is much better than most of Argento's messy screenplays such as the aforementioned "Deep Red" and second, it was one of his few movies that didn't featured his then wife, Daria Nicolodi, which is a terrible actress (so as their offspring, Asia Argento, so we may conclude that acting talent don't run in the family).Dario Argento was a great, inovator & exquisite director on the crime / thriller and consequently, the supernatural horror genre, but he never was a great writer to begin it and it's kind of ironic, because he started his career as a film critic and co-writer of such classics as "Once Upon a Time in the West" ('68). His best screenplays were co-written by Daria (which at least was a better writer than actress) such as his supernatural masterpiece, "Suspiria" ('77), but in the early stages of his career when he was doing the 'giallo' sub-genre, some were hits and other were misses and "Cat o' Nine Tails" even if it didn't gross as much as his fabulous debut movie, "The Bird with Crystal Plumage" ('70), it wasn't a critics' favorite back then and even today Argento's buffs kind of underestimate it, it ranks as one of his best accomplished films, that makes sense all the way and it's very well acted, especially by the duo of protagonists played by the 70's heartthrob, James Franciscus (who was a dead ringer for Richard Chamberlain) and the always great Actors' Studio alumni, Karl Malden who offers a dignified & quirky performance as a joyful blind man turned detective.Special mention to the then 10 years' old, Cinzia De Carolis, that offers a gripping (and way mature for her age group) performance as Lori, Karl Malden's adopted niece, distancing herself from the usual annoying child actors' performances in this kind of movies.Catherine Spaak is bland and emotionless (and not even attractive to project some sex appeal on screen) as the leading lady, but fortunately, her screentime wasn't that big to harm the film."Cat o' Nine Tails" may moves at an uneven pace, but at least it didn't drag on with endless 'not important to the plot' scenes and the movie took itself a bit more serious without the hammy / almost parody performances from Daria Nicolodi and the guy who played the Inspector in "Deep Red", a movie that looks and feels way more dated today than "Cat...".One of the reasons that Argento's buffs don't appreciate this movie as much as his other gialli, it's because it strangely, didn't had that bloody / sleazy & over-the-top staged and multi-angle photographed murder sequences (with the exception of two major gory scenes, but even that was toned down if compaired with "Deep Red" or "Phenomena") which are this director's trademark; some of the victims were men and not the usual young girls getting slashed; the nudity and gore were kept to the minimum and it's probably the most "Hitchcockian" film of his career, a more "americanized" Argento aware of the censors and less "euro-trash".Besides that, "Cat o' Nine Tails" is a pulp novel come to life in its purest form, and people should note that the "giallo" started as a crime / thriller with some elements of suspense in it, not horror / gory flicks with gratuitous nudity and gruesome murder scenes everywhere, and this is an almost perfect example how the italian sub-genre must be remembered today.The cinematography is absolutely fantastic, all the inventive camera angles and peculiar staging of scenes that made Argento's a master of this craft, are still glouriously presented here; the plot's structure and resolution it's one of his best (far away from the less believable, Scooby Doo-style resolution that could only happen in the movies, presented in the likes of "Deep Red" or "Terror at the Opera"); the Ennio Morricone's orchestration elevates the eerie tone of the film and as a crime / thriller straight from the yellow pages of a pulp novel to the big screen, it works wonders, it's a kind of film that i bet, Alfred Hitchcock liked it.In short, it's a less shocker from what we could expect from the master of the bizarre, but still an unique, stylish and imposing 'giallo' that should figure in the Top 10 lists of this sub-genre.My vote is 8.5 !!

snakebitereviewers I'm new to the works of Dario Argento, and as a horror fan this may sound like a crazy notion, however something I have been looking to do in this new year of 2018 is widen my horizons abit with some more old school horror titles from yesteryear. The first film to cross my reviewer table actually couldn't have come at a better time as this is being released later this January and is the second film from this legendary Director.The Cat O'Nine Tails is more of a thriller than a horror that focuses on a blind retired journalist Franco Arno (Karl Malden - A Street Car Named Desire) and Journalist Carlo Giordani ( James Franciscus - Beneath The Planet Of The Apes) who are trying to solve a series of murders connected to a pharmaceutical company's experimental, top-secret drug which finds them both becoming targets of the killer.Cat O'Nine Tails is a perfect starter for anyone looking to get into Italian cinema from the 70's. Masterfully shot in a style we have seen in many slasher horror films which proceeded it, I loved the use of the close up shot of the killer's eye as he is about to strike, The killer in first person view is something that reminded me so much of the first Friday the 13th film (but I am sure has been used in many other films around that time). While it may be slow going at times, The Cat O'Nine Tails does hold the attention for the crime drama fan in me. I couldn't guess who the killer may be, the plot had me intrigued, and for the time the murder scenes quenched my Gore thirst even if they were a little over the top (The Train death anyone?). The dubbing was well put together, however I did struggle with a few of of the scenes that focus more on reading i.e newspaper articles and Milk....I didn't know what the bloody hell was in that pyramid shaped carton the killer tries to murder Giordani with. While the acting, at times, is a little dated overall the film holds up well still today. Franciscus and Malden are the stand out performers throughout and the mystery held me till the end. This is an interesting little film, and I personally would love to try more of Argento's work.

Michael_Elliott The Cat O' Nine Tails (1971) ** 1/2 (out of 4) Franco Arno (Karl Malden) is a former reporter who now spends time raising his young niece fifteen years after being forced into retirement due to going blind. After a bizarre murder Arno reaches out to current reporter Carlo Giordano (James Franciscus) and the two try to figure out why more bodies are piling up.THE CAT O' NINE TAILS was writer-director Dario Argento's second of three films in his unofficial "animals" trilogy. From reports, this here was the biggest money maker in Argento's career but it should be noted that it's the director's least favorite of his own films. I think there are a lot of very good things to be found here but at the same time there's just something missing that keeps it from being good or even great for that matter. It certainly benefits from some great performances but in the overall career of Argento it feels a tad bit too laid back.Again, I think the greatest thing going for the film are its two lead performances, which one could argue are the best performances to be found in any Argento movie. Malden brings a certain amount of respect to the film and he's certainly believable in the role. Malden gets to play a few different emotions here and the actor pulls them off perfectly. Franciscus is also very good in his role and certainly makes for an entertaining lead to carry us through the running time. Cinzia De Carolis is good in the role of the niece and Catherine Spaak is also excellent in her supporting role.The main problem with the film is that its story just isn't captivating enough to fully support the 110 minute running time. I think the story could have been made a tad bit stronger or perhaps a little editing would have helped. The film does feature a nice music score from Ennio Morricone and the cinematography is very good. The death scenes are probably the least effective of Argento's career but there's still some pretty good stuff here with the strangulations.THE CAT O' NINE TAILS isn't a masterpiece or even among the director's best giallo but it does feature two great performances that make it worth sitting through.

Spikeopath Il gatto a nove code (The Cat O' Nine Tails) is written and directed by Dario Argento. It stars Karl Malden, James Franciscus, Catherine Spaak, Horst Frank, Aldo Reggiani, Carlo Alighiero and Rada Rassimov. Music is by Ennio Morricone and cinematography by Erico Menczer.Blind puzzle solver Franco Arno (Malden) and newspaper man Carlo Giordani (Franciscus) team up to see if they can solve the mystery of the murders that are terrifying the city. With their own lives becoming increasingly in danger, and the lines of investigation splintered all over the place, the men are drawn to the mysterious Terzi Institute where geneticists are tampering with gene patterns…Argento doesn't like it and the fans are very much divided about the worth of it on the Argento curriculum vitae, yet The Cat O' Nine Tails is a delightfully entertaining oddity.The plot is labyrinthine with relish on top, spinning the viewers into the same convoluted investigative maze that Messrs Arno and Giordani find themselves in. In fact, it's near genius that it rarely makes sense under inspection, yet still there's a fascinating edge to the story, with its characterisations, sexual kinks and cruel murders, there's a power to the piece that rewards if you can just run with it, buy into Argento's Giallo singed world.With Malden turning in a great performance and Franciscus performing to a level nobody thought was in him, the lead characters really come to life. Add to that Morricone's creepy jazzy-garde fuelled score underlining the skew-whiff nature of the beast, and Menczer's photography tonally muted, tech credits are at one with the themes ticking away in the narrative, a narrative that has observation, ironically, on vision, sight and minds eye. While there's a couple of rug-pulls jostling for our attention just to keep things twisty.Then there is the director himself. The Cat O' Nine Tails finds him restrained compared to the excess of style over substance films that would dominate his oeuvre post release of The Cat. That's not to say there isn't style here, there's plenty as Argento dallies in POV, iris vision, and a nifty trick that gives the blind Arno "sight", further ensuring that the supposed handicapped character is the key player and potential saviour of all. A number of scenes are bursting at the seams with suspense, with a cemetery/mausoleum sequence top draw, for sure Argento is firmly getting in his stride here.It's not a gore movie, something which I personally think has led to some of Argento's fans giving the film the cold shoulder, but it's the tale (or tails of course) and characterisations that hold it up as being under valued. It's a Giallo whodunit flecked with sexual stings and no little amount style draped all over it. 7/10